Questions
Straight answers.
The things sellers ask before they send a car, and the things bidders ask when they see the badge. If yours is not here, ask us.
What kind of cars do you take?
Enthusiast, collector and classic cars that make sense at auction: the sort of car that gets a following on Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids or Mecum. Air-cooled 911s, E30 M3s, C5 and C6 Corvettes, Miatas with a story, Land Cruisers, muscle, restomods, low-mile modern performance. We are not the place for a daily-driver trade-in. If you are unsure whether your car qualifies, the valuation will tell you honestly, and that is cheaper than finding out at the auction.
Do you take salvage or rebuilt titles?
Not for certification at launch. A rebuilt title can still get a valuation so you know where you stand, but we will not accept it for intake unless we have agreed in writing first. Salvage titles we decline. The Go to Hammer Certified name has to mean the same thing every time, and title-branded cars need a different kind of disclosure than our statement is built for.
Where are you?
Northeast Ohio. Sellers within a day's drive usually deliver themselves. For everyone else we arrange enclosed or open transport with an insured carrier and bill it through at cost. Cars come to us from well beyond Ohio; the certification travels with the listing, so where the shop is matters less than you would think.
How does transport work?
You choose: drive it in, or ask us to arrange it. When we arrange it we act as your agent with a licensed, insured carrier. The carrier's insurance covers the car while it is on the truck; our garage-keepers coverage takes over when we sign the intake record. The transport charge appears as a line on your estimate. We do not own trucks and we are not a transport company.
How long does the whole thing take?
The valuation is minutes. Intake is usually scheduled within one to two weeks. Inspection and estimate take two to three business days after the car arrives. The work depends entirely on what you approve: a detail, fluids and a photo set is about a week; paint correction, mechanical repairs or subcontracted work runs two to six weeks. We give you a date range on the estimate and update it in your account as the job progresses.
Who lists the car? Do you sell it for me?
You list it, under your own account, on whichever venue you choose. We are not the auction house, we do not buy or consign cars, and we never take title. We can draft a listing description in the venue's house style if you approve that line, but you review it, submit it and answer bidders. This keeps the relationship simple: you own the car and the sale; we prep it and certify it.
What does it cost?
A flat valuation fee, charged when the valuation lands and credited in full against any prep job. Prep is itemized and you approve it line by line, so the cost is whatever you say yes to. The certification is its own line, charged when it is released. Transport is billed through. There is no success fee and no percentage of the hammer price.
What if the valuation is wrong?
It will be, sometimes. Auction results depend on the day, the reserve, the listing and the bidders, and the model is reading condition from photographs. We show a range, not a number, and we say how confident we are. Once the car is in the shop, the hands-on inspection is what drives the estimate; if we find the valuation was optimistic, we say so before you approve anything. Over time we compare every certified car's hammer price to its valuation, and that is what makes the model better.
Do I have to do the work you recommend?
No. Every line on the estimate is your call. Recommended lines are the ones we believe return more at the hammer than they cost; optional lines are judgment calls. Decline what you like. Declined items are recorded and, if we certify the car, they appear in the statement under what was not addressed. That is part of being honest.
What exactly is a Go to Hammer Certified statement?
A reviewed, dated record of the vehicle's identity, what we found on inspection, the work we performed with before-and-after photos, a condition grade, and what we did not address. It is a point-in-time inspection and work record. It is not a warranty, not insurance, not an appraisal and not a title search. Every statement is reviewed by a designated reviewer before release.
Can a bidder verify the certification?
Yes. Every released statement has a ten-character code and a public page at gotohammer.com/verify. The page shows the current status, the release date, the findings, the work and the not-addressed list. If a document and the page differ, the page wins. A document with no working verification page is not ours.
Who owns the photos and data?
You own what you upload. You give us a license to use it to do the work: run the valuation, build the estimate, produce the certification. Photos our staff take are our work product, and you get to use the ones in your estimate and certification. We do not sell your data. Anonymized results (model, year, condition, prep done, hammer price) help improve the valuation model.
Is my car insured while it is with you?
We carry garage-keepers coverage for vehicles in our care, custody and control, and the car is stored indoors in a locked facility. Your own policy should stay in force throughout. The intake agreement spells out custody, road testing limits and what happens if something goes wrong.
What happens if I do not collect the car?
We agree a release date when the work is done. Collection is due within seven days; after that, daily storage applies until the car is collected and paid for. Ohio gives repair shops a lien for unpaid work and storage, and the intake agreement explains the notice process. It is the last resort and we have no wish to use it.
Can you just do the valuation without the shop?
Yes. The valuation stands on its own and plenty of sellers stop there, list the car as-is and use the venue recommendation and condition read to write a better listing. If the model says sell as-is, we will tell you that too.
Can I use the certification for a car I am buying, not selling?
Not yet. A buyer-side inspection service is on the list, but today the statement is issued to the seller for a car that has been through our shop. If you are bidding on a Go to Hammer Certified car, read the whole statement including the not-addressed items, and get your own pre-purchase inspection if you want one.
Still wondering
The valuation answers most of it.
Whether your car qualifies, which venue fits, and what is worth fixing first. If the answer is sell it as-is, we say so.